Family Unveils Cindy Barden Teachers Center At FDL Library

Family members of the late Cindy Barden gathered at the Fond du Lac Public Library on May 18 to view the completed Cindy Casetta Barden Teachers’ Resource Center inside the Children’s Room.

The resource center was made possible through an endowment fund with Fond du Lac Area Foundation, which was set up in Barden’s name by her family. This generous gift will sustain the resource center for years to come.

Barden was a Fond du Lac native and prolific author. She wrote nearly 200 educational books for children, used nationally, and wrote short stories, poetry and news articles. Locally, her best-known work is the beloved red-jacketed, “Foot of the Lake: An Early History of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin,” published in 1998. Barden died in 2014.

The resource center, which is open to all, includes a growing collection of materials for teachers, homeschoolers and parents with materials to check out, such as books, book club kits, musical instrument kits, classroom kits, big books for storytelling, and equipment to use on site.

“What a wonderful and fitting legacy for a remarkable person,” said library Director Jon Mark Bolthouse. “On behalf of the entire community, we thank the family of Cindy Barden for their devotion to learning and its role in creating a better place for us all.”

In the photo:

With just a handful of examples of Cindy Barden’s works on display, members of her family gathered at the completed Cindy Casetta Barden Teachers’ Resource Center at the Fond du Lac Public Library, seated, from left: David Casetta, Patricia Casetta and Mona Barden. They are joined by, standing, from left, Sandi Roehrig, executive director of the Fond du Lac Area Foundation; Jon Mark Bolthouse, director of the Fond du Lac Public Library; and Sarah Newton, children’s and teen services coordinator at the library.